Death Penalty Drives Governor's Race In Virginia

An interesting battle is beginning to take shape in this year's race for the governor's seat in Virginia. On the Republican side, current Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore is not only in favor of capital punishment, but also advocates the strengthening of death penalty statutes. On the other side, the Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, has taken a different--and slightly surprising--stance. In a state where capital convictions and executions rank second in the nation, Kaine has steadfastly denounced the death penalty. Although the election is more than three months away, the rhetoric and dynamics of this race is already spurring strong feelings from both sides of the death penalty debate.

Kilgore's stance on capital punishment is fairly in line with the majority opinion of Virginia citizens. His background includes stints as a state and federal prosecutor as well as being the secretary for public safety for Governor George Allen in the mid-1990's. A staunch supporter of victims' rights, Kilgore's support for the death penalty has never wavered. "The death penalty is the law of the commonwealth now, and it's not likely to change anytime soon. That is the law, and I have to support that law just as I have to do the others," he said in a 2004 interview. Kilgore has even taken his support up a notch: the aim of one of his recent legislative proposals--the Death Penalty Enhancement Act--is to allow the death penalty for those who were involved in a murder, but did not actually commit the crime of murder. This so-called "triggerman" proposal stems directly from the Lee Malvo and John Allen Muhammad sniper cases in 2003. Kilgore said he believes it is important to give juries the option of the death penalty in such cases.

On the other side of the coin, Kaine adamantly opposes the death penalty and has been against it long before he held public office. As a public defender, Kaine defended several capital cases and in 2001 he also advocated a moratorium on the death penalty. Kaine's belief comes directly from his strong Catholic faith and he believes that sticking to his personal belief might help him with voters by demonstrating his ability to hold fast on an issue. "I don't think that people will hold a well-grounded religious belief against me so long as they have confidence that I will be able to uphold an oath of office," Kaine said last year. Although he has admitted that his opposition to the death penalty is not a popular belief, especially in Virginia, he has also repeatedly claimed that he will carry out executions as governor because "that's the law." As lieutenant governor, Kaine's refusal to introduce legislation to outlaw the death penalty is noteworthy and may be a precursor to his actions as governor, if elected.